Afterward, the smile ever present, Jalen Milroe told reporters that football is supposed to be fun. It was hard to argue with Alabama football’s quarterback after Saturday.

Milroe had looked at Week 4 against Ole Miss as “just another opportunity,” Nevermind that he had been named the starter after a strenuous, months-long quarterback battle. Like the throwers before him, Milroe would just play. He’d move past the negative moments when they came and rally around teammates. He’d rely on his faith and let the preparation show off.

And for Milroe, that meant having fun, which meant delivering a few more highlights for the Crimson Tide offense in a 14-point victory.

“Football is fun. no matter what opponent it is, we gotta enjoy it. Enjoy it as much as possible. It’s gonna be a roller coaster of emotions,” Milroe said after posting a career-high 81% completion rate (17-for-21) against the Rebels. “There’s gonna be things we can improve on. there’s gonna be things we did well at. At the end of the day, we got to enjoy the process. We got to.”

Alabama’s statement 24-10 win to open conference play was enforced by the defense but accentuated by Milroe, who looked more decisive in the pocket. He still had a costly turnover on a would-be touchdown throw — Saban called it a ‘trap’ scheme where a cornerback drops into a zone while teammates play man-to-man, a technique of Pete Golding’s — but Milroe showed he can spark Alabama when needed.

Entering Saturday, Ole Miss had the 66th-best defense in the country. Milroe responded with 225 passing yards, 28 rushing yards and one touchdown. He was aided by 105 rushing yards from Jase McClellan and 21 by Roydell Williams, providing a blueprint for Alabama’s offense: rotate everything around the running game, set up easy decisions for Milroe and hope the offensive line holds up well enough to take some shots downfield.

Though it conceded four sacks (Alabama has now allowed 14 in its last 12 quarters), a 54-yard dot to Jermaine Burton and a 33-yard lofted touchdown to Jalen Hale were the differences in the second-half rally.

“If you ask (Milroe), he’d probably say he got a little bit affected by the first interception in the Texas game,” Saban said. “But you have to learn that you have to go play the next play. You can’t let one play lead to several bad plays. … You’re a point guard, you can’t turn the ball over. You’ve got to get assists. If you have one turnover, don’t let it lead to two.

“I think he’s growing and done a really good job of that.”

Saban said he meets with the quarterbacks on Sundays and Thursdays. He shows them the positives and negatives on film. When Saban reviews the Ole Miss tape with Milroe, he’ll see the good — There Milroe was converting the Tide’s initial opening drive for a 20-yard scramble. Then again on a designed run two plays later, this time for 18 yards. – and the bad. Milroe missed some short throws and a couple of the Tide’s four allowed sacks could’ve been scrambles.

But on Saturday, it mostly looked good. And after kneeling out the final drive, Alabama analyst Charlie Strong found Milroe near midfield and wrapped him in a bear hug. Milroe could enjoy it for now. Up next? A trip to Mississippi State for his first SEC road start.

RELATED: The interception and close-out drive that helped Alabama stifle Ole Miss

Saban jokes about patience after 5th Alabama touchdown nullified in 3 weeks

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].